The Love I See
by Cassidy Blue
Summary: When Provenza stirs things up - and in the face of another man on the scene - will Andy finally find the courage to admit how he feels...? Posted for week 14 of the #ShandySundayHiatus Marathon. One-Shot.


**_DISCLAIMER:_**_ I do not own them, much to my eternal sadness. I am but borrowing them for just a little while. _

**_A/N:_**_ This piece came about due to a late-night (European time, anyway!) FlynnGirl virtual cocktail party, via twitter. The discussion _somehow_ moved onto ice-cream-related Shandy smut (I _still_ have no idea how) and yours truly was duly nominated to turn it into a fic. Girls…I'm still not up to par, but I did my best!_

_Also, I am aware that I have been conspicuously absent the past few weeks. While not posting - or even actually writing much - my muse has been back with a vengeance after deserting me for a while! I have so many stories floating around my head that I went into panic-mode and decided not to write anything at all! Thankfully, that stage seems to be passing… I will be posting backdated fics shortly to cover the hiatus weeks that I missed. _

_I hope you enjoy this - I live for reviews (hint, hint!)._

_A (__slightly__ late) birthday gift for _**_lontanissima_**_: My friend, confidante and fanfic soulmate. I love you - and I'm sure the ice-cream thing was your fault!_

_Written for the #ShandySundayHiatus Marathon 2014 - Week 14._

_All mistakes are mine alone._

* * *

><p>"It would seem I owe you an apology."<p>

Andy Flynn looked up in surprise at his partner's words, and frowned as he tried to remember the last time that Provenza had apologised for _anything_.

"What for?" he asked cautiously, swivelling his chair around to better face the other lieutenant.

The look on Provenza's face was positively gleeful - despite his words - and Andy had the sinking feeling that whatever this was about, _he_ was the one who would end up feeling sorry.

"It seems you're _not_ dating the Captain, after all."

There was a sly glint in Provenza's eyes as he said this and Andy was confused. If his friend was trying some new tactic in order to catch him out, it wasn't going to work. While he and Sharon were _friends_, often sharing meals together outside of the office, they really _weren't_ dating.

Not for lack of enthusiasm on his part, he thought morosely, but that was beside the point.

"I know that," he said instead. "I've been telling you that for months."

Provenza grunted.

"Yes. Well. Now I have proof."

_Proof_? What?

"Will you just cut to the chase?" Andy demanded, becoming increasingly annoyed with his partner's games. "What the hell are you talking about?"

"I happened to be at that new French place around the corner last night - you know the one, it opened about a month ago…"

"I know it," Andy snapped. "What were _you_ doing there?"

"I took Leyla."

"Leyla? I thought you broke up with her weeks ago!"

All Provenza had done while dating this particular woman was complain about her. He'd finally managed to extricate himself from the relationship and now he had apparently been reeled right back in. Great. That would mean more evenings spent putting up with the old man's whining…

"We're back together, but that's not the point…" Andy rolled his eyes in exasperation. "_Flynn_! Focus!" Provenza barked. He waited until he had Andy's full attention again before continuing. "While we were there we ran into the Captain."

Andy looked nonplussed.

"So?"

It was Provenza's turn to roll his eyes.

"She was with a _man_," he elaborated. Andy shrugged. "_On_. _A_. _Date_."

Andy's stomach dropped.

Oh God.

Provenza was apparently oblivious to his friend's discomfort, chattering on happily as he packed up for the evening.

"I'll see you tomorrow," he said finally, throwing Andy a wave over his shoulder. "And again - sorry for not believing you earlier!"

"Yeah," Andy replied, too softly for the departing Provenza to hear him. "Bye."

Andy groaned as he remembered that he and Sharon were due to have dinner this evening - an event that was decidedly _not_ a date. How was he supposed to get through that now, knowing what he knew?

For the first time since they had started seeing each other outside of work, Andy found himself dreading spending the evening with her. Something he had been so looking forward to up until just a few minutes ago now seemed like a dark cloud looming over him. Instead of promise, the coming hours now seemed filled only with despair. He thought back over the past few months sadly. All those wasted opportunities to tell her how he really felt. Now, there was nothing left but regret.

* * *

><p>It was as they finished the main course of their meal that evening that Andy found he could contain his curiosity no longer. While a large part of him did not want to know the truth, preferring to remain in blissful ignorance for as long as possible, another part of him needed to hear her say it.<p>

"So," he started, fiddling with his napkin awkwardly. "I hear you're seeing someone."

He cringed as the words left his mouth. Really? Could he sound any more ridiculous? Sharon's brow creased as she looked at him incredulously. _This_ was obviously why he had been behaving so strangely tonight - honestly, she had been wondering - but what on Earth was he talking about?

"Where did you hear that?" she asked quietly, trying but failing to make him meet her gaze.

"Provenza."

Ah.

"He said he saw you on a date last night."

Of course he did.

Sharon snorted before she could stop herself, quickly covering her mouth with her hand as his head snapped up to look at her. At Andy's baffled expression she rolled her eyes and smiled.

"Last night?" she questioned, amusement shining in her green eyes as she watched him.

Andy nodded, not understanding quite what she was finding so funny about all this and wishing that he had just kept his damn mouth shut.

"Andy, last night I was at dinner with Ambrose Pike."

"_Okay_."

Honestly, he had no idea who that was, and he really wasn't sure he wanted to know the guy's name, anyway. It was bad enough that he was dating Sharon, without having to hear all the gory details.

Sensing Andy's discomfort, Sharon scooted closer to him in their booth and placed her hand over his.

"He's a lawyer," Sharon continued, a smile still playing around her lips. "I met him through Gavin."

"_Okay_," Andy said again. Where exactly was she going with this?

"_When they were dating_."

She finished her explanation with a grin. It was a few seconds before her words hit home, but suddenly Andy laughed - with relief as much as amusement.

"Oh, God." He hung his head, embarrassed now that he had even broached the subject. It was, after all, none of his business what Sharon did in her private life. It wasn't as if there was anything more than friendship between them, whatever he might personally long for. "Sharon, I'm so sorry."

She chuckled quietly, squeezing his hand.

"It's fine, Andy." She bumped him gently with her shoulder and he smiled, although he still couldn't bring himself to look at her. "Just…maybe try not to listen to your partner so much in future!"

"He couldn't have known, I guess," Andy offered charitably. Truth be told, he was ready to shoot the old goat for starting this whole thing in the first place - a feeling that only intensified with Sharon's next words.

"He did, actually."

Andy did look at her then.

"What?"

"Provenza knows Ambrose. He even came over to say hello last night." Andy's face immediately turned thunderous and she smiled softly at him. "I think he may have been stirring."

"I _know_ he was!"

Taking a deep breath, Andy let his eyes drop back to the tablecloth. Provenza was lucky that Andy was here with Sharon now, or he would be receiving a late-night visit from his very embarrassed, _very_ annoyed partner.

Watching his reaction, Sharon's expression turned serious. She slowly turned Andy's hand until it was palm-up on the table, laying her hand back atop his and lacing their fingers together. Her thumb stroked his softly as she looked at him. It suddenly occurred to her to wonder why exactly he had been so perplexed by the idea of her dating someone. Why it had caused him to act so oddly. There was no possible reason for his behaviour, unless…

"Would it bother you?" Mesmerised by the touch of her hand holding his, it took Andy a moment to register her words. He lifted his eyes to look at her, confusion clouding his features. "If I were dating someone," she clarified quietly. "Would it bother you?"

He searched her gaze for a moment longer, before he finally found his voice.

"Yes," he answered simply. "Unless that someone was me."

He had no idea where the bravery that caused those words to leave his mouth had come from and it disappeared just as fast as it had arrived, leaving him nervously awaiting a response from her, his heart feeling like it was about to beat right out of his chest.

Sharon was silent, her eyes widening slightly as she processed this information. Then, slowly, a smile crept across her features, lighting her eyes from within as she studied him intently.

"Good answer."

She lifted her free hand to his face, laying her palm against his cheek and he immediately leaned into her touch, his eyes slipping closed as he sighed softly. When he opened them again it was to find her still watching him, a serene smile gracing her beautiful features.

So slowly, Andy moved towards her until he could lean his head down to hers. His lips grazed her own in the lightest of caresses, a tentative touch that nevertheless made his chest constrict and his breath catch in his throat with its intensity.

A tiny hum of pleasure escaped Sharon's mouth as their lips met. The desire that she had been denying for months flowed through her in a rush at his touch and her hand glided around to the back of his neck, pulling him closer as she deepened the kiss. She had been craving this man for so long and now - thanks to _Provenza_, of all people - he was finally making his move.

Andy needed no further encouragement. He had been longing for this moment for months. His fingers were in her hair now, his thumbs stroking her temples as he ran his tongue lightly along her bottom lip - savouring her taste, relishing the small sounds she made as she parted her lips in response to him. Her fingers played with the hair at his neck, sending a delicious heat through his body and causing him to moan quietly.

They could have stayed lost in each other for hours, but they were aware enough of their surroundings that they pulled apart - reluctantly - smiling shyly at one another.

"Did you want dessert?" Andy murmured as his fingers stroked her cheek. "Or shall we just get out of here?"

Sharon tilted her head to the side, pretending to ponder the question.

"The blueberry ice cream does look good…" she mused playfully.

"Hmm…" He leaned in so that his lips brushed her ear with his next words. "I have ice cream at my place. Homemade."

"Really?" He nodded, before he began nibbling at the delicate skin behind her ear. She closed her eyes and hummed softly, trying very hard not to give in to the exquisite sensations he was creating that were sending waves of arousal coursing through her body. "Then what are we waiting for?" she said in a rush. "Let's go."

* * *

><p>Sharon slipped her shoes off in Andy's hallway, smiling as she felt his arms sneaking around her waist from behind. He was already kissing her neck and she could feel the warmth of his hands through the silk of her blouse, adding to the heat that was already flooding her body.<p>

Turning in his arms, she held his head in her hands as she captured his mouth, her fingers stroking through his hair as she did so. His eyes were almost black with desire and longing when he looked at her - feelings that she knew were mirrored in her own expression. There was something else there too - but it was something that she was not ready to acknowledge just yet, choosing to simply allow herself to enjoy this moment with him. A moment they had been prolonging for entirely too long.

Andy pressed her back against the wall, pinning her there with the length of his body. As her tongue ran along his bottom lip, demanding entrance, his fingers went to work on the buttons of her blouse. He parted the purple silk, his fingertips barely grazing her skin, causing her to shiver with anticipation. She hummed low in her throat as he tugged the material free of her skirt, allowing his hands to roam her body more easily.

It was when his touch finally found her breasts, his thumbs stroking their hardened peaks, that she broke the kiss. She moaned, leaning her head back as he kissed a trail down her neck, his hands taking her arousal to an almost impossible level.

"You promised me ice cream," she panted as Andy's lips explored the newly-exposed skin beneath her blouse.

"I did."

Andy lifted his head reluctantly and began to pull away from her. Sharon caught his wrist before he could move any further, her eyes sparkling in the low lighting of the hallway and her face wearing a smile that was positively bewitching.

"Later."

She dragged him back towards her, hooking her leg around him to hold him against her body as she claimed his mouth in a searing kiss. His erection pressed insistently against her heat through too many layers of clothing and he growled at the contact, desperate for more. When he could stand to wait no longer, he moved away from the wall, bringing Sharon with him as they began the stumbling journey towards his bedroom.

Pushing her up against the doorframe, Andy paused, his hand on the zipper of her skirt. She looked up at him questioningly.

"Are you sure?" he whispered softly.

"I'm sure."

Smiling as she stood on tiptoes to kiss him quickly, Sharon took his hand in her own - all thoughts of ice cream forgotten as she nudged the door closed and pulled him across the room and onto the bed.


End file.
